All Civil and Environmental Engineering faculty are fully committed to both undergraduate and graduate teaching, in addition to having active research and graduate training programs. Departmental research has broad-based extra-mural support from numerous funding agencies including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Aeronautic and Space administration, Texas Advanced Technology Program, Department of Energy, Gulf Coast Hazardous Substances Research Center, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and several industrial sponsors.
Members of the department have led the development of several interdisciplinary and interdepartmental centers and research consortia including the Shell Center for Sustainability, the NSF-sponsored Center for Biological and Environmental Technology, and the International Consortium for Environment and Nanotechnology Research, a collaboration between US and EU researchers on sustainable application of nanotechnologies.
Another program of the department is the Rice Global Form. Now in its seventh year, The Forum serves as an intellectual resource and a neutral platform for an open dialog on issues of contemporary interest to the E&C industry.In addition, Brine Chemistry Consortium of oil and gas production and services companies has funded pacesetting research on the mechanisms of mineral scale formations for over 20 years. New initiatives include the next major field sampling and analysis program on air quality in Houston to support development of control strategies for ozone and a joint research program between Rice University and Namkai University in Tianjin, China on sustainable environmental technology development. The department is also a leader in the area of flood prediction and radar-based flood alert systems with major funding from NSF, FEMA, and the Texas Medical Center.
Research Groups & Centers
CASA Engineering Research Center- Houston Testbed for Flooding
Center for Biological & Environmental Nanotechnology
China Nankai University Partnership for Sustainable Development
Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Journal
NSF Center to Transform Sensor Technology
Rice Engineers Without Borders
Rice Environmental & Energy Systems Institute
Rice Releases Air Toxics Study
